About Heather

Shopping at the Farmers Market

I am a daughter, sister and aunt living in north county San Diego. I began cooking when I was six. My first cookbook, “Meals in Many Lands”, was a gift from my “Auntie Roxann” and introduced me to different types of foods, cultures and recipes. The first cookbook I ever bought was, “Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Cookbook” chock full of kid-friendly recipes which I happily made and my family (thankfully) choked down. I still have both of theses cookbooks and in fact, my niece cooks from them now. (Which is how I know my family humored me and ate the “Thumper’s Tuna-Noodle Casserole” regardless of the taste. Thanks family!)

I am still an avid collector of cookbooks and have tried at least one recipe from each (I have over 50). I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly drawn to any one type of food and my mom – although an excellent cook who taught me the basics– isn’t one of these women who has a ton of “old world recipes” in her back pocket. I try what sounds good, looks pretty or seems fairly easy to make. By no means am I a gourmet chef. When pressed to name my favorite type of food I will probably admit that I love pub food – not exactly haute cuisine here!

In fact, at the ripe old age of 23 I declared that, “I’m not a cook – I just make food.” Since then I have discovered that cooking is actually my creative outlet and have been known to spend an entire weekend in the kitchen just experimenting. I love to entertain and my way of making guests feel welcome and special is to create an atmosphere where all of the senses are satisfied.

Now that I cook for a family, I’ve learned to adapt my recipes so that everyone can enjoy them – which means eliminating the onions (or cutting them small so that I can sneak them in), finding new ways to include tomatoes so they are eaten and trying my best to camouflage the chard.